Dr. Matthew Purtill
A new study by SUNY Fredonia geology professor Dr. Matthew Purtill explores landscapes and AI.
The study looks at how artificial intelligence (AI) can help scientists better understand how landscapes formed over time. Published in the international scientific journal Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, the research combines traditional sediment grain-size analysis with machine learning to identify whether sediments were originally deposited by rivers, glaciers, wind, lakes or beaches.
Dr. Purtill noted that using 180 sediment samples collected primarily from western New York, the AI/machine-learning based model correctly identified depositional environments with approximately 90 percent accuracy. He noted that the research demonstrates how emerging AI technologies can complement traditional geological methods, offering new opportunities for reconstructing ancient environments and interpreting archaeological sites.
